Vending-machine.



PATENTED JUNE 18, 1907.

G. E. DAVISON. VENDING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED APB.1'I,1908.

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No. 857,037. PATENTED JUNE 18, 1907. G. B. DAVISON.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 17,1906.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Wampum 355 C. E. DAVISON. VENDING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED APB.17, 1906.

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Q/vi tn woes PATENTED JUNE 18', 1907.

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No. 857,037. PATENTED JUNE 18, 1907. c. E. DAVISON.

VENDING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED APB. 17,1906.

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CLINTON E. DAVISON, OF LITTLE ROCK, IOWA.

VENDING-MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 18, 1907.

Application filed April 17, 1906. Serial No. 312,189.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, CLINTON E. DAVISON, a citizen of thetUnited States, residing at Little Rock, in the county of Lyon and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and useful more especially, is adapted for vending fiat articles such as envelops andletter pa er, etc. but in stating this particular object do not intend to exclude myself from its use or adaptation, or of'any'part of it, for any purpose to which the same may be put.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a vending machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2 a vertical section from front to -rear; Fig. 3 a horizontal section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 a detail view, in section, of a portion of the mechanism for causing the delivery of a single article; Fig. 5 a detail perspective view of the wheel part of said mechanism; Fig. 6 a

like view and a section of the upper end of the shaft for the wheel shown in Fig. 7; Fig. 7 a detail View in perspective of the end of the coin-releasing lever which coacts with said Wheel; Fig. 8 a detail perspective view of the coin-operated brake for the motor; Fig. 9 a like view of a portion of one of the articlesupporti'ng leaves or hinged plates and its latch device; Fig. 10 a erspeetive view of the clamp for holding t e coin-locking and releasing levers when the motor driver latchreleasing device is to be returned to its starting osition.

T e casing A of my machine may be made of wood or metal, and is of such form as is best suited for its purpose, and hung within it is a vertical series of pivoted plates or leaves B, each of which is adapted to receive and support the article to be vended by the machine, such for example, asheet of paper, or

an envelop and a sheet of paper. Said plates or leaves are du licates, and they are ivoted at the back ,oft e machine between t e sides of the casingA,by horizontal rods C that pass through eyes b on the rear edges of the respective leaves and project at opposite sides thereof where they engage bearings in plates at fastened to the casing sides. Said bearings consist of slots a in the plates 0 which extend from one edge thereof inward and downward, so that the rods may readily slide into place and will remain there. The back of the casing A is hinged to form a door to give access to the interior for the placing thereinof the leaves with the articles to be vended, and a suitable lock is provided to permit access only by an authorized person. The leaves B are supported in a horizontal osition, with the articles to be vended restmg thereon, by latch mechanism, which upon the introduction into the machine of a proper coin, releases a leaf at a time, which by gravity thereupon swings downward on its pivot and delivers the article to an inclined board or shelf D at thebottom of the casing A, where it may be removed through an opening in thefront of the casing. The lowermost leaf strikes at its free front edge against and -jects a tongue I) on each leaf, and engaging the underside of said tongue there is a latch E that consists simply of an L-shaped elastic or spring wire or rod, one arm e of the latch being fastened between a pair of vertical bars or posts F on the front wall of the casing, the latch being thereby mounted or held in place so that its other arm e, which is free, may be moved to and from leafengaging position, it normally, by the spring action of the wire or rod, tending to move and remain in such position. To guide thelatch in its movements, as well as support it under the weight of its leaf, I provide a vertical bar G which I fasten to the front wall of the casing A opposite the vertical slot a, which bar has a hole or opening 9 for each free arm e of the latch, through which it plays, and it has a right-angled flange g with a notch g in its free edge through which the other arm 0 of the latch asses and plays. At one side the leaf tongue has a downwardly turned lip or lug I). Be tween the bar G and the vertical series ofv latch arms e there is a vertical threaded shaft or screw H, and mounted on said shaft is a latch-engaging and releasing device that consists of a plate or bar I having preferably two threaded lugs or nuts 11 which engage the. screw, so that by the revolution of the screw the bar I is moved vertically; The lugs or nuts i bear against the bar G so that they will be prevented from turning with the screw when it revolves and thereby be compelled to travel vertically. At its upper end the bar has an inclined surface '5 which, as the bar moves alon by the action of the screw, will engage the atch arm a and cam or press the latter horizontally in the direction to withdraw the end of the arm a from beneath its leaf B to release the latter. At its lower end the latch-engaging bar has a similar inclined surface to enable the bar to readily pass the latch arms when, after having moved to the top of the series of latch rods and released the top-most'one, it is returned to the bottom again, as is hereinafter described, ready for another ascent.

It will be observed that my leaf latches and their releasing mechanism are extremely simple in construction and certain to operate properly and are not liable to derangement.

The screw H is journaled at its top in a bearing conveniently provided in the bar G,

and at its bottom in the top plate of the.

through a train of gears, not necessary to be described, receives motion from the motor spring in a well-known way; The gear L is loose on its shaft M, for a urpose hereinafter described, and it is coup ed to or uncoupled from its shaft, at will, by means of a small bar m pivoted at one end in a vertical, diametrical slot in the shaft end, and adapted to be moved into or out of engagement with a radial slot Z in the hub of the gear. When the bar is in engagement with the hub slot, the wheel is coupled to the shaft so that they rotate together, and when it is out of en gagement with the hub slot, the wheel may revolve independently of the shaft. .A flat spring m interposed between the bar and the bottom of the shaft slot yieldin ly holds the bar in either of its positions re ative to the hub slot.

The motor is kept from. operating b a brake or stop device consisting of a dis N that bears on the side of a gear wheel 0 of the. motor, and said disk is carried on the lower end of a vertically movable rod 12. which is guided in openings in the motor frame, and which at its upper end is pivotally connected to one end' of a lever P pivoted between its ends to a bracket 7: on the top plate of the motor frame, its other end being in the path of a coin passing through acoin chute or guide Q,

sewer hanging lip or tongue g incliningdownwardi i from the delivery end of the chute, for a period' only long enou h to let the motor run sufliciently to cause the latch releasingbar l to move far enough to release a sin le latchto free its leaf B, and at the expiration of such period of time the coinis removed from the lever and the latter bein then free, is

rocked to re-en age the bra e diskor shoe with the gear w eel 0. 1 To free the lever P from the coin, there is a second lever R also pivoted between its ends to the bracket 7:, one end of which lever R overhangsa horizontal lug or projection p on the lever Pne ar, its coinengagin end, which overhanging end of the lever %,when it is depressed, en

gages said lug and carries downward the coingo enga ed end of the lever P, and thus frees the coin om the chute lip g, and it then falls into a box S. To enable the lever P to be thus operated, its portion adjacent its coin-engaged end is made of thin steel or other elastic metal. The leverR is operated to produce the action just described by having itsopposite end 1' engaged by a radial pin t on the outer periphcry of a rim or flange T on the gear wheel L, said end 1" of' the lever B being inclined so that by the engagement and passage beneath it of said pin, that end of the lever R will be raised and the other end depressed. Asprin 7* acts on the lever B to restore it to norma i position after having been operated, as described, by the pin t. There are preferably several pins t on the wheel flange, because the occasion for the operation of the lever R occidental lateral displacement ef the'lever by 1 1- the pressure of the pint thereon;

- When the latch releasing bar I has reached the upper limit of its travel and is to be-returned to the .bottom of the screw, the motor is locked from operation by a locking lever U io pivoted to thevtop plate of the m'otor frame, which, is swung to place its end in enga ement with the toothof one of the wheels of t e ear train; the twolevers P and R are rocke so that the-end'r of the lever B is taken out of 125 the path of the pins tand held there, (which ma be done by the device Vshown in'Fig. 10), an the bar m is turned to place it out of engagement with the hub'slot Z, thus freeing the gear wheel L from its shaft, M.

By applying 1 3 J a key to the squared upper end of the screw H, the latter may now be turned backward, and the latch-releasing bar thereby be made to travel downward, whereupon, on reaching its lowermost position, the bar m is moved to re-enga e the hub slot, the levers P and R are release and the locking lever U moved out of engagement with the motor gear, and'thc machine is again ready for use.

A small, supplemental casing A for the latch-mechanism is hinged to the front of the machine, which may be opened when desired to give access thereto to the motor mechanism and to the money box, a suitable lockbeing provided to prevent its being opened except by some authorized person.

The 0 eration of my machine is as follows :I the machine is to vend stationery, say a sheet of letter paper and an envelop, to be sold for one cent, the back door of the easingA being opened, the leaves B are removed, save the bottom one, and a sheet of paper and an envelop placed on the bottom leaf, which is, of course, first latched in a horizontal osition, then, one after another, the remaining leaves B are placed in position and latched, a sheet of paper and an envelop being laid on each as fast as they are put in position. The leaves are spaced the proper distance apart by means of the lips b so that the operator need not pay any special attention to get their tongues b in proper position on top of the springs e. A cent being dro ped through the casing coin slot 0;, it Wlll fal into the coin chute or guide Q and roll on edge down the same until it strikes the chute lip g and rests on the lever P, which it will depress, thus lifting the brake shoe wheel 0 and starting the motor. The screw H will now be revolved, and feed the latch releasing bar I upward carrying its inclined or beveled upper end into contact with the arm 6 of the latch and ently pressing the latter sidewise will with raw its arm ev from beneath a leaf, whereupon. the leaf will swing downward to an inclined position and deliver the stationery to the inclined shelf D, whence it will slide to the mouth or opening at the front of the casingA, in reach of the purchaser. By the time the bar I has traveledv far enough to release a leaf, one of the radial ins t on the gear wheel rim T will engage and ift the end 1' of the lever R rocking its opposite end downward, which, being in enga ement with the coin-engaged elastic end of t e lever P, will press such end downward and .release the com, whereupon said lever P will be moved to movethe rake shoe into contact with the wheel of, the motor train, and thus the latter will be stopped, and the machine be in readiness forv another operation. When the latch-operating bar I has reached the limit of its upward travel, its return to the bottom of the.'series -of latches iseffected in the manner hereinbefore described.

N from the gear 1-. The combination of a coin chute having I at its delivery end a downwardly inclined over-han ing lip, a movable coin-o erated lever or device having an integral in ependently operable, movable coin-engaging member disposed beneath said lip and meansto actuate said member to release a coin therefrom.

2. The combination of a coin chute havin at its delivery end a downwardly inclined over-hanging, lip, a movable coin-operated lever or device having an integral elastic, independently operable, movable coin-engaging member disposed beneath said li and means to actuate said member to re ea'se a coin therefrom.

3. The combination of a coin chute having at its delivery end a downwardly inclined over-han ing lip, a movable coin-o erated lever or device having an integral in ependently operable, movable'coin-engaging mem-,

ber disposed beneath said lip, a motor, and motor-actuated means to actuate said member to release a coin therefrom.

4. The combination of a coin chute having at its delivery end a. downwardly inclined over-hanging .lip, delivery mechanism, a movable coin-operated lever or device having an integral independently operable, movable coin-engaging member disposed beneath said lip, and means to actuate said member to release a coin therefrom.

5. The combination of a coin chute having at its delivery end a: downwardly inclined over-hanging lip, delivery mechanism, a movable coin-operated lever or device havin an integral independently operable, movab e coin-engaging member disposed beneath said lip, a motor, and motor-actuated means to actuate said member to release a coin therefrom. I

6. The combination of a-coin chute having at its delivery end a downwardly inclined over-hanging lip, a coin-operated lever, a

coin releasing lever having one end disposed beneath said lip and engaging the com-o erated lever, means to prevent lateral dlsplacement of the coin releasing lever and means to actuate the coin-releasing lever.

7. The combination of a coin chute having at its delivery end a downwardly inclined over-hanging lip, a coin-operate lever, a

coin-releasin lever having one end disposed.

beneath sai lip and engaging the com-o erated lever, means to prevent lateral d18- placement of the coin releasing lever, a motor controlled by the coin-operated lever, and motor-operated means to actuate the coinreleasing lever,

8. The combination of a coin guide having at its outlet end a lug or projection, a lever having an elastic portion contiguous to said outlet end and disposed beneath said projection, and means to operate the elastic portion of the lever contiguous to said outlet end.

9. The combination of a' coin guide having at its outlet end a lug or projection, a lever having an elastic portion contiguous to said outlet end and disposed beneath said projection, a motor controlled by said lever and motor-actuated means to operate the elastic pogtion of the lever contiguous to said outlet en 10. The combination of a coin guide-having at its outlet end a lug'or projection, a lever having an integral elastic member contiguous to said outlet end and disposed beneath said projection, and means to operate the portion of the lever contiguous to said outlet end. K

11. The combination of a coin chute having at its delivery end a downwardly inclined over-hanging lip, a coin-operated lever or device, a coin-releasing lever engaging the lat ter beneath said lip, and a pin-carrying wheel the pin of which is constructedto engage and lift one end of and to actuate said coin-releasing lever.

12. The combination of a motor, a coin chute having an overhanging lip inclined downwardly from its delivery end, a pivoted coin operated lever, an independently pivsame"? oted coin releasing lever, a lug on the coin operated lever overhung by the end of the coin releasing lever, and means acting on the other end of the coin operated lever to move the same on its ivot.

13. The com ination of a motor, a coin chute having an overhanging lip inclined downwardly from its delivery end, a pivoted coin operated lever, an independently pivoted coin releasing lever, a lug on the coin operated lever overhung by the end of the coin releasing lever, means acting on the other end of the coin operated lever to move the same on its pivot, and means for holding the coin releasing lever out of the path of said means. I

14. The combination with the coin oper ated lever having a lug near its coin-engaging end, and a coin-releasing lever, and an arm parallel therewith, of a memberengaged at one end with said arm and its other end pressin down said levers.

15 he combination with a coin operated lever having a lug near its coin engaging end and a coin releasing lever having one end overhanging said lug, an arm arallel'with the end of the coin engaging ever, and a forked member having its forked end engaging over said arm, and its other end overlying and pressing down said levers.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

CLINTON E. DAV'ISON.

Witnesses ERNEST H. Yosr, L. M. PoLLEY. 

